Props (ASU)

Interim props to architectural sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

What is a prop?

Literal: Something temporary added to a structure to hold it up.

We are interested in the untapped potential—narrative & interpretive—of impromptu stabilization devices used to make temporary repairs to sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

For us the prop presents a unique program of clarity and limited scope: it resists forces exerted by the downward pull of gravity and time. While “what” a prop does is clear, the “how” it is done is an overlooked design opportunity. This is an inquiry into the art of architecture in which idea and statics meet.

By revealing latent forces often unperceived by the visitor, the prop’s small act of architecture reflects the role of architecture from the times of the Greek temples:

“Standing there, it opens up a world.”

—Heidegger

Related Projects
What is a prop?
prop-ER medicant [Curtain] | prop [Kyongii]